Executive Editor in City of Westminster

Reform UK is seeking an exceptional Executive Editor to lead its expanded editorial, broadcast and digital content operation from the party's Westminster headquarters. This is a senior leadership role with responsibility for building a high-quality, high-output media operation capable of delivering at national scale in the build-up to the next general election and beyond.

A central priority will be the development of Reform TV and Reform UK's wider broadcast and video output: creating distinctive programmes and formats, commissioning original content, maximising the Westminster studio and building the production capability required to deliver ambitious live and recorded output at speed.

The Executive Editor will lead across broadcast, video, website/news and social, ensuring they operate as one coherent editorial operation. The role combines the editorial judgement of a senior newsroom leader, the production experience of a senior broadcaster and the audience instincts of a modern media executive.

What you'll do

• Lead the editorial and production operation
• Lead Reform UK's expanded editorial team, setting clear priorities, delegated authority, standards and performance expectations across Broadcast & Video, News & Website and Brand Social Media.
• Set the overall editorial direction and daily content agenda, identifying the stories, political moments and ideas around which Reform UK should build its output.
• Establish a highly organised seven-day operation with effective commissioning, forward planning, rotas, handovers, escalation, weekend coverage and rapid-response capability.
• Recruit, coach and retain high-performing talent, and deploy budgets, studio capacity and production resources around the content most likely to generate impact.

Key Responsibilities

Build Reform TV into a major content operation

Shape the editorial and creative vision for Reform TV, developing it into a distinctive media proposition rather than simply a distribution channel for existing political content.

Develop andcommission acompelling slate ofrepeatable programmesand formats,including interviews,debates, panel shows,packages, explainers,documentaries,political analysis,personality-ledprogramming and liveevents.

Work closelywith the Head of Video and senior production staff fromconcept throughdelivery, balancingambitious plannedoutput with the ability to reactrapidly to breakingnews and politicalopportunities.

Buildrecognisable formats,presenters,contributors andfranchises, whileidentifyingopportunities formajor interviews,exclusive access,location shoots,outside broadcastsand specialprogramming.

Runhigh-quality live andstudio production

Maximise the use and impact of Reform UK's Westminster studio as a reliable engine for high-quality live and recorded programming.

Oversee editorial and production planning for live programmes, interviews, events, speeches, press conferences and breaking-news coverage.

Ensure robust processes across research, scripts, guests, running orders, technical delivery, compliance, post-production and distribution.

Set clear production standards, contingency plans and escalation routes so output can increase in speed and volume without compromising quality.

Own content, formats and distribution

Directly oversee the Website Editor, Head of Video and Head of Social, holding each team accountable for quality, reach, engagement and impact within one editorial strategy.

Ensure major stories, speeches, campaigns and political moments are commissioned as complete content packages rather than isolated posts or videos.

Decide where premium production adds value and where speed, immediacy and authenticity matter more.

Ensure strong broadcast and long-form content is intelligently repurposed into clips, explainers, articles, graphics, short-form video and social assets.

Encourage disciplined experimentation with programmes, presenters and treatments, scaling what works and stopping what does not.

Build audiences across every platform

Ensure content is conceived with distribution and audience behaviour in mind from the outset and adapted appropriately for each platform.

Oversee the website as an authoritative destination for news, video, policy and political content, encouraging audiences to watch, return, subscribe, register, join and participate.

Stay close to changing audience behaviour, platform trends and new forms of media consumption so Reform UK continues to reach audiences wherever they are moving.

Performance and Leadership:

• Establish clearmeasures of successacross programmes,video, website andsocial, combiningeditorial judgementwith evidence aboutwhat audiences watch,read, share andreturn to.
• Useaudience data andregular performancereviews to informcommissioning,scheduling, formats,staffing and resourceallocation.
• Build aresults-based culturethat learns quicklyfrom evidence, scalessuccessful formatsand changes or stopsactivity thatconsistentlyunderperforms.
• Workclosely with the Data& Analytics functionto turn audienceinsight into clearrecommendations forsenior editors,producers and partyleadership.
• Buildstrong relationshipsacross Operations,Communications &Media, Campaigns,Press, Data,Membership, Eventsand the regional andbranch structure.
• Work effectivelywith senior politicalfigures,understanding theirpriorities whileapplying theeditorial judgementrequired to turnpolitical objectivesinto compellingcontent.
• Improveforward planningthrough cleareditorial meetings,commissioningprocesses, sharedcalendars and definedownership, ensuringmajor initiatives andevents have aneffective contentplan.
• Managerelevant productioncompanies,freelancers,agencies, platformpartners andsuppliers, ensuringhigh standards, valuefor money and clearaccountability.
• Representeditorial, broadcastand audienceprioritiesconfidently to seniorparty leadership,making clearrecommendations,surfacing risks earlyand takingresponsibility fordelivery.

THE PERSON

We are looking for an outstanding senior editorial and broadcast leader with the judgement, creativity, energy and operational discipline to build a modern, high-output media operation in a fast-moving political environment.

This isnot primarily atechnical productionrole: the successfulcandidate mustunderstand howexcellent televisionand video are made,lead senior editorialand production teamsconfidently, and beequally comfortableassessing thepolitical agenda anddigital audienceperformance.

Essential experience and capabilities

• Substantial seniorleadership experiencein broadcasttelevision, video-lednews, currentaffairs, journalism,media production oranother high-pressureeditorialenvironment.
• Significantexperience leadingeditorial andproduction teams,including senioreditors, producersand creative ortechnical staff.
• Strongunderstanding of thecomplete televisionand video productionprocess, with provenexperiencecommissioninghigh-qualityprogrammes andoverseeing liveoutput fromdevelopment throughdelivery.
• Excellenteditorial judgementand news sense, witha strong creativeinstinct for stories,contributors,treatments anddistinctiverepeatable formats.
• Strongunderstanding of themodern medialandscape, withsufficient digitaland data fluency tolead website, socialand audience teamsand distributebroadcast-qualitycontent effectivelyacross platforms.
• Demonstrablesuccess growing reachand engagementthrough strongeditorial ideas,formats,personalities orprogramming.
• Outstandingstakeholder-management and communicationskills, includingconfidence workingwith senior politicalfigures, journalists,producers,operational leadersand externalpartners.
• Highlyorganised,politically aware andresilient, with theability to managecompeting priorities,budgets, majorprojects andrapid-responsedemands in a highlyscrutinisedenvironment.
• Willingness to bebased at Reform UK'sWestminster HQ andwork flexibly aroundbreaking news, majorbroadcasts, politicalevents and campaignperiods, includingevenings and weekendswhen required.

Highly desirable

• Senior experiencewithin a nationalbroadcaster,television newsroom,major productioncompany orsubstantial video-ledmedia organisation.
• Experiencelaunching orsubstantiallydeveloping atelevision channel,digital videooperation, programmesor major newbroadcastproposition.
• Experiencecommissioninglong-form interviews,documentaries, studioprogrammes, debates,current-affairsformats or liveevents.
• Experiencedeveloping on-screentalent and buildingprogrammes orfranchises arounddistinctivepersonalities.

Why join Reform UK?

This is anopportunity to builda significant newmedia operationinside a nationalpolitical party at adecisive point in itsdevelopment. Thesuccessful candidatewill have unusualscope to shape ReformTV, its programmesand formats, itsproduction operation,editorial agenda andwider digital contentstrategy - and to seethe impact of thatwork at nationalscale.

#J-18808-Ljbffr